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| Arson Attack on London Kingsbury Buddhist Temple |
| Monday, January 5, 2009 |
A suspected gang of Tamil Tiger supporters has attacked and set fire to the Sri Saddhatissa International Buddhist Centre (SSIBC) popularly known as "Kingsbury Buddhist Temple", Kingsbury, London in the early hours of Saturday 3rd January 2009. The arson attack caused damages to the main shrine chambers of the temple, which is one of the most respected Sri Lankan Buddhist places of worship in the UK.
All the resident monks were inside at the time flames broke out and emergency services including fire fighters and Police were called to the Temple premises around 3.10am, but no one was injured. The suspected attack by unidentified persons caused damage only to the building.
The suspicion has fallen on Tamil Tiger terrorist supporters in London. This is the sixth time SSIBC has come under attack, and on numerous occasions, suspects have stolen the Sri Lankan flag which is always proudly displayed on the post in front of the temple, along with the Buddhist and British flags.
A previous attack caused severe damages to the building, glass windows and the vehicles parked outside. That particular assault in September 2008 came as retaliation against a visit to the temple by the Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was on transit in London, on his way to address the UN General Assembly and special summit of Commonwealth leaders in New York.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka High Commissioner in London, Justice Nihal Jayasinghe has rigorously condemned the Saturday morning attack on the SSIBC. At the same time, he praised the Temple for its valuable services provided to various communities in the UK despite their different ethnicities. High Commissioner also called this continuous vandalism, a denial of pluralism. He further expressed his displeasure on previous lacklustre investigations carried out by the authorities and their inability to take any action in bringing the culprits to justice.
There have been many attacks on the temple and London community leaders, local politicians, multi-faith religious leaders, organisations and other related bodies are aware of the situation and are providing their fullest support.
A devotee said that “the community is devastated by this incident on a peaceful religious place and enough is enough, this is the sixth time, at least this time we expect firm action from the authorities". Another member of the Sri Lankan community said that the “liberation campaign victories achieved by brave Sri Lankan soldiers, especially the fall of Killinochchi has made many LTTE sympathisers angry and this is how they retaliate”.
Despite the attack on the temple, Chief Incumbent of the Temple, Venerable Galayaye Piyadassi Nayaka Thero (MBE), Chief Sanga Nayaka of Great Britain said that the previously planned "Ranaviru Commemoration Bodhi Puja" celebrations for liberating the North and East of Sri Lanka and prayers for peace in Sri Lanka in the New Year 2009 will go ahead as planned on the same day (3rd January 2009) at 6.30pm.
Kingsbury temple also had a special religious programme on the New Year’s Day for the same cause. It also had its annual Inter Faith religious programme recently with the participation of representatives of all the major faiths in Brent and Harrow Boroughs in London. Representatives from Baha'i, Brahma Kumari, Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism and many other Interfaith organisations participated in that programme.
Scotland Yard Police immediately came to the Temple and took finger prints and available video footage of the incident and however Metropolitan Police investigations are still underway.
news.onlanka.com |
| posted by The Times @ 10:35 AM |
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| The Buddha and Dr Anton Führer: an Archaeological Scandal by Charles Allen |
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Sara Wheeler on the man who claimed to have found the Buddha's birthplace
In 1898, on an estate between the foothills of the Himalayas and the Gangetic Plains, a third-generation British planter called William Claxton Peppé excavated an intriguing brick stupa. At 24 feet, he unearthed a hefty stone coffer containing five reliquary vases. Besides a glittering heap of jewels and gold, one of the vases held ashes. An inscription around the rim recorded that the ashes were the remains of the Buddha, and that they had been deposited by members of his Sakya clan.
In this dense and quirky volume, Charles Allen unravels the saga of the discovery, a twisted tale of truth and lies that has divided Buddhist scholars for a century. He begins, quite properly, by reconstructing the forested Tarai landscape of the fifth century BC in which the Buddha grew up, material he touched on in his 2002 volume The Buddha and the Sahibs. The account of Peppé’s dig that follows includes a cast list ranging from civil servants to Sanskrit scholars and a maverick Bengali babu, as well as extensive and informative background material. One gripping passage reveals how the various prakrit or vulgar languages the Aryans introduced were formalised into Sanskrit, which went on to become the dominant literary language of northern India and Mahayana Buddhism.
Unfortunately, shortly after Peppé’s discovery, a German archaeologist called Dr Anton Führer, a former Catholic priest digging 15 miles away, was involved in an archaeological scandal. Führer had claimed to have discovered the Buddha’s birthplace at Lumbini, just over the border in Nepal, as well as the city where the young Buddha lived as Prince Siddhartha. The trouble was that Führer had been tangentially involved in the Peppé dig – an association that cast doubt on the authenticity of the vase and its ashes. Allen suggests, plausibly enough, that the German “willingly suspended disbelief” in his desperation to find answers. “Führer wanted,” writes Allen, “to believe that the sacred landscape explored … in the fifth and seventh centuries still existed in that same idealised form in the last decade of the 19th century. So strongly did he believe this that he sought to make it so.” I would have liked more on Führer, as one ends up with little sense of the man.
Overall, though, as in his previous work, Allen displays a strong sense of narrative, conjuring shikaris bent over trenches in their enormous solar topees while a naked sadhu from the local temple looks on from the shade of a banyan tree, no doubt thinking all foreigners insane.
A comprehensive final chapter assesses the validity of the Peppé dig using carbon dating. In dealing with recent discoveries in the region, and with modern interpretations of the evidence, Allen covers the grim, yet hilarious battle, between India and Nepal over the true location of the Buddha’s birthplace. Unlike the respective tourist boards, he concludes that we don’t yet know where exactly the Buddha was born and raised, though Allen favours the Nepalese claim that the ruins of Tilaurakot by the river Banganga are the site of Kapilavastu. And he vouches for the authenticity of Peppé’s discoveries.
Allen is a distinguished author in the field; his previous books include Plain Tales from the Raj and Kipling Sahib. He is a scrupulous researcher who respects his sources. In these pages he pieces the story together like the shards of a broken vase while avoiding the Führer tendency to reach hasty conclusions. The Buddha and Dr Führer represents a personal mission to remove the stain of impropriety from an important set of archaeological findings, and Allen has achieved his goal with admirable rigour. The book is well illustrated with integrated maps, photographs and artistic images. None the less, this latest offering has a much narrower appeal than the author’s previous work, and its detailed analysis of archaeological history will discourage all but the most committed Buddhist scholars.
telegraph.co.uk |
| posted by The Times @ 10:33 AM |
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| Cambodian monks force nation's first rock opera off air |
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Cambodian monks have persuaded authorities to ban the country's first rock opera, which features actors dressed as clergy who break into song and dance, saying it insults Buddhism.
In a letter sent to the ministry of cults and religion, as well as to the media, the Supreme Sangha Council of Buddhist Monks also demanded an apology from the show's director, writer and actors.
"Where Elephants Weep," a modern take on a traditional Cambodian love story that merges pop and rock music with more traditional and historical Cambodian tunes, played in Phnom Penh from late November through early December.
It tells the story a Cambodian-American man who returns after the demise of the 1970s Khmer Rouge regime to reconnect with his roots. While he is a monk, he falls into a doomed love affair with a pop singer.
The last straw came when the show was aired by a local television station last week, prompting the monks' council to write to complain.
Cambodia is predominantly Buddhist and monks are expected to be austere and eschew worldly pleasures such as entertainment.
"Some scenes in the story insult Buddhism," the letter said in asking the ministry to "ban the performance and airing of the opera."
The council objected to many scenes, including one in which the actor "left the monkhood and slept with a woman, but a moment later (he) put the robe back on to be a monk again..." said the letter, dated December 30.
The show "oppresses Cambodian Buddhist monks, causes more than 50,000 monks to loss their honour, value and to express frustration," it added.
Religions minister Min Khin duly stepped in and the television station was ordered not to go ahead with a second broadcast planned for New Year's Day.
The show had a successful US preview last year and, after its run ends in Cambodia, it is expected to tour South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan before returning to the United States.
Organisers behind the opera were not immediately available for comment.
macaudailytimesnews |
| posted by The Times @ 10:32 AM |
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| Led Buddhist precepts guide us through 2009 |
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Following the path shown by Lord Buddha will enable us to deal with discontent and suffering
The fire tragedy at the Santika Club, in which more than 60 people were killed during the New Year holiday, marks only the beginning of a difficult year that we are going to face. There will be more uncertainties, from the war in the Middle East, the impending collapse of global financial capitalism to the political turmoil in Thailand.
Most Thais are feeling uncertain about their jobs and their security. So do people from all over the world, who are feeling unsure of what lies ahead. They used to have assets, but now they feel they are poorer.
While nobody can predict the future, let us go back to some of the Buddhist principles to guide us through 2009. In good and in bad times, Buddhism has always given us the strength to be aware of what we are and the best course of action for our lives. If all of us practice Buddhism, we'll find refuge in enlightenment and reduce the cause of suffering.
First, we should all seek refuge in the Three Jewels. These are the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. While we can't escape our karma or effects caused by previous thoughts, words and deeds, the Buddha has shown us the way to escape from further suffering by becoming enlightened.
The Dharma represents the Buddha's teaching, which is the body of knowledge to help us avoid suffering and to achieve enlightenment. The Sangha is the community of monks, who carry the torch of wisdom and pass on the Buddhist practices and its tradition from one generation to another.
To take refuge in the Three Jewels does not mean that we try to run away or escape from this world. Rather, it means that we should find the Three Jewels in our heart.
The lay people generally try to follow the five precepts.
These are: I shall refrain from harming living creatures; I shall refrain from taking that which is not freely given; I shall refrain from sexual misconduct; I shall refrain from incorrect speech; and I shall refrain from intoxicants, which lead to loss of mindfulness.
The five precepts are the easiest way for the layman to practice Buddhism. They are fundamental to the conduct of a sufficiently happy life. Now, Thais are in conflict as never before. The root of the conflict lies in their ignorance of the actual political and social environment, their pursuit of self-interest, their use of foul language against each other and intoxication with what is wrong.
The next stage is to gain more insight about the Four Noble Truths. The fundamental of life is suffering or dissatisfaction because of our cravings. The Buddha pinpointed the cause of suffering or dissatisfaction and summarised it in the Fourth Noble Truths - Dukkha, Samudaya, Nirodha and Marga.
Dukkha is the suffering nature of life, governed by a state of change. Samudaya is the cause of suffering, caused by our attachment to or desire for something.
This is rooted in our ignorance.
Nirodha is an end to the suffering, which is what we should strive for. The ultimate road of Nirodha is Nirvana. Marga represents the path that leads us out of suffering.
Marga is further explained in the Noble Eightfold Path - right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.
All of these eight paths should be practised all at once as if they are the singular element, although each element complements or reinforces each other towards helping us to become a better human being.
The Eightfold Path essentially consists of meditation, following the precepts, and cultivating the positive converse of the precepts.
The path may also be thought of as the way of developing our mental and moral discipline.
If most of us take time to study some of the fundamental precepts of Buddhism and practice them with a pure heart, one will have a better understanding of the world, will refrain from creating more problems for the world, will live sufficiently happily with the world.
nationmultimedia |
| posted by The Times @ 10:29 AM |
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| Buddhists Seek Enlightenment |
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Fredericksburg, FL (USA) -- THE WAPTA Tesarangsee Buddhist Temple has served Fredericksburg-area Buddhists from a modest but appropriately decorated and nicely appointed structure since 2000.
The area has had a Buddhist community for a long time. Local adherents are fortunate that a search of Virginia found a location that was quiet, not too expensive and provided convenient access for a significant number of Northern Virginia Buddhists.
They are also fortunate that the temple is staffed by several of the most experienced and enlightened monks that Thailand--a longtime Buddhist nation--has to offer.
Dhammarak Butsahip XX leads visitors into the richly carpeted temple after asking them to remove their shoes. There, one faces several large, gilded statues of The Buddha sitting on elevated platforms. Butsahip's placid demeanor and the absence of chairs imbue the place with an atmosphere of welcoming informality.
"Here," say Butsahip, "we help people to correct their problems and practice how to spend their life in peace. The building is open to all religions, for anyone who wishes to try meditation; we welcome everyone to learn."
Butsahip will be in the United States for two years. He was sent here by the Grand Master in Thailand to be a leader at the local temple.Of the eight monks at the temple, six will be departing soon when their visas expire. Butsahip says they all came here to learn about the differences between Eastern and Western cultures.
Asked about what he likes most about the United States, Butsahip replies, "Freedom under the law."
Butsahip explains Buddhism as a "way of life, a system. The law of karma is a natural law; it controls every life, every soul. Whatever we do will come back to us. Whatever you do becomes an energy to your soul that will control happiness or suffering. Whatever you are depends upon what you did before.
"The [law of the land] regulates how people live together, but it does not stop the suffering of the soul. People do not know how to live, how to correct their lives.
"Buddha is not a god, but a teacher of the law of karma. He was an 'Isaac Newton of the soul' and knew how to reveal the law. When the circle of life is broken then we are free. There is no 'real' image of Buddha, the images are not worshiped, and vary in appearance from place to place. The way to make the world a better place is to start with yourself first to achieve happiness, and then lead by example."
Monks cannot marry. They work their way up through the hierarchy by starting out with mundane tasks, practicing for enlightenment and evolving their souls. The only significance of the traditional saffron robes worn by monks, according to Butsahip, is that they are easy to make, easy to care for and comfortable. They are not a fashion statement and have no religious significance. Monks are never to wear "fancy clothes," and they have little or no money, he says.
Asked about his opinion of Thai food as served by Thai restaurants in the United States, Butsahip says it is pretty authentic, but cautions against ordering it the way it is served in Thailand. The Thais begin eating very spicy food at an early age; Americans are not used to the fiery blast they will encounter, he says.
Butsahip summed up the visit with the following Buddhist observation on life: "Wrong thinking makes wrong actions; wrong actions equal wrong power; wrong power makes the wrong karma. The wrong karma will control you and you suffer."
buddhistchannel |
| posted by The Times @ 10:28 AM |
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| Burmese Buddhist monastery opens in Finland |
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Jan 5, 2009 (DVB)–The first Burmese Buddhist monastery in Finland was officially consecrated in Kuopio on 3 January.by five monks led by Penang abbot U Pannya Wuntha and abbot U Uttara of London’s Sasana Ramsi Vihara.
The Buddha Dhamma Ramsi monastery was set up by Burmese Buddhists living in Finland with the help of the abbots, according to monastery secretary Kyaw Htay.
"A monk who is currently serving in London will come to reside here and we are expecting another from the foreign missionary board,” he said.
“We have agreed to see to their material needs."
Kyaw Htay said around 300 people took part in the ceremony, which marked the culmination of more than three years’ work.
"The effort to set up a monastery in Finland started in 2005 when U Pannya Wuntha visited the country,” Kyaw Htay said.
“He provided us with the basic capital and we saved our hard-earned money to make it happen."
Finland is one of several countries to which Burmese refugees have been resettled since 2005.
Finnish law requires refugees to study or work, which has made it difficult for Burmese Buddhist monks to continue in their vocation.
Reporting by Yee May Aung |
| posted by The Times @ 6:09 AM |
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| Peace Pagoda at Dhauli |
| Sunday, December 21, 2008 |
By Mona Lisa Jena
Eight kilometers south of Bhubaneswar stands a rocky outcrop that overlooks an ancient battle site. It was here that Emperor Ashoka, the third century BC ruler of the Eastern India fought a bloody war that turned out to be his last as the carnage he witnesses led him to embrace Buddhism. This event is commemorated by a modern stupa called Dhauli, built on the summit of the hill.
Dhauli hill is surrounded by lush green paddy fields stretching up to the horizon. The Daya River meanders by almost touching the foothills the hill. A narrow tar road runs from the bridge across the river up to the hilltop.
The rock at the hill is hewn and polished in an area of 15 feet by 10 feet where Ashokan inscriptions are deeply cut out of the rock columns. There is also a huge elephant cut out of the rock and carved in indigenous style.
The Mauryan King, Ashoka was known for his irrepressible cravings for power. He set his eyes on the kingdom of Kalinga , which was the land of Paikas , the brave foot-soldiers. The Kalingan army reigned supreme for a period of nearly 2000 years when the empire spread from the Ganga in the north to the Kaveri in the south...
In the war with Kalinga, almost one lakh soldiers were killed and about 1.5 lakh were taken prisoners. And yet the rest refused to bow and confronted Ashoka's army in hordes only to be mercilessly massacred. The result was a devastating sight and it is said that the waters of the River Daya turned crimson with their blood.
By day's end, Ashoka was in a brooding mood. The resistance from his opponents that led to the bloodshed and the wails of the survivors and wondered shook his conscience there was no joy in the conquests. Just then a soft voice chanting some prayers flowed around him. It had a very soothing effect on his soul. Ashoka followed the voice and up to the hill where a Buddhist monk told him about Buddhism. Ashoka accepted the philosophy and decided on the spot to atone for his doings. This has been inscribed in the Ashokan Edicts, along with the scriptures of Buddhism. Ashoka now came to be known as Dharmashoka.
There is a gigantic dome shaped edifice atop the Dhauli hills, called Shanti Stupa or Dharma Vijay Stupa. Erected in the 1970s by Japanese Buddhists, this stupa commands an extensive view of the surrounding contours to symbolise the Buddhist percepts of peace and non-violence. Nichidatru Fuji Guruji's preaching's dedicated here to the memory of Dharmashoka. On the four sides, four large images of Lord Buddha, meditating (east), preaching (south) and attaining Mokshya (west) are sculpted in the Gupta age style.
There are five huge disc -shaped umbrellas on top of the stupa, sheltering a fragment of the tooth of the Buddha. It is said that the wisdom tooth was divided into small pieces, which were distributed all over the world; monumental edifices were built to house the relics.
The dome, which is also called the ‘peace pagoda' is set against a picturesque landscape. From here, beautiful sunsets and sunrise can be seen.
There is an ancient Shiva temple and another for Lord Bahirangaeswara Shiva at the foothills. There are five caves in a row called the Panch Pandavs.
The setting of the stupa is scenic and amid peace prevails giving visitors a sense of calm and quietude. Indeed, the appellate Peace Pagoda is appropriately given.
kalingatimes.com |
| posted by The Times @ 12:30 PM |
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| Negotiations continue over Buddhist temple plan |
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Shoalhaven, Australia -- Shoalhaven council is continuing negotiations over a proposed Buddhist temple and tourism complex in South Nowra, despite the developers missing the deadline for settlement.
Payment was due on Wednesday after the deadline for settlement was extended earlier this year.
Council bought the 1,200 site at Comberton Grange in 1985 and has negotiated with the Shaolin Order since 2006.
Council's deputy Mayor Gareth Ward says at this stage the Shaolin Order has expressed its intention to continue with the purchase.
"We will continue to pursue the recommendation given from the property steering committee which was that if payment wasn't received on the 17th [of December] that we would write to the Shaolin Order and ask whether they were still interested," he said.
"My understanding is that they are continuing to pursue payment and that we will have an outcome in January."
Councillor Ward says the Department of Planning is yet to hand down its final determination on the temple, which is a condition of the contract.
buddhistchannel |
| posted by The Times @ 12:28 PM |
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| Buddha statues seized |
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KARACHI, Pakistan -- Two antique Buddha statues were seized by Pakistan Customs at a mail office on Thursday.
The Customs staff, acting on a tip-off that some elements were using the mail to smuggle Buddha statues to China, started monitoring the movement of parcels sent to the office handling international mail.
On Thursday, the surveillance team intercepted a parcel booked by Aijaz Ahmed (Islamabad) and addressed to Zou Jialhui (Beijing). Upon examination, the parcel was found to contain the two antique Buddha statues.
Officials said the relics probably dated to the Gandhara period, but added that an authentication report from the National Museum is awaited.
buddhistchannel |
| posted by The Times @ 12:27 PM |
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| This Is Your Brain on Bliss |
| Friday, December 19, 2008 |
Happiness doesn't have conditions; it can't be reduced to a few agreeable sensations. Rather, it is a way of being.
What is happiness, and how can we achieve it?
Happiness can’t be reduced to a few agreeable sensations. Rather, it is a way of being and of experiencing the world -- a profound fulfillment that suffuses every moment and endures despite inevitable setbacks.
The paths we take in search of happiness often lead us to frustration and suffering instead. We try to create outer conditions that we believe will make us happy. But it is the mind itself that translates outer conditions into happiness or suffering. This is why we can be deeply unhappy even though we “have it all” -- wealth, power, health, a good family, etc. -- and, conversely, we can remain strong and serene in the face of hardship.
Authentic happiness is a way of being and a skill to be cultivated. When we first begin, the mind is vulnerable and untamed, like that of a monkey or a restless child. It takes practice to gain inner peace, inner strength, altruistic love, forbearance, and other qualities that lead to authentic happiness.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama often teaches that, while there are limitations to how much information one can learn and to our physical performance, compassion can be developed boundlessly.
Practicing Happiness
It is not difficult to begin. You just have to sit from time to time, turn your mind within, and let your thoughts calm down. Focus your attention on a chosen object. It can be an object in your room, your breath, or your own mind. Inevitably, your mind will wander as you do this. Each time it does, gently bring it back to the object of concentration, like a butterfly that returns again and again to a flower.
In the freshness of the present moment, past is gone, future is not yet born, and -- if one remains in pure mindfulness and freedom -- disturbing thoughts arise and go without leaving a trace. That is basic meditation.
Pure consciousness without content is something all those who meditate regularly and seriously have experienced -- it is not just some sort of Buddhist theory. And anyone who takes the trouble to stabilize and clarify his or her mind will be able to experience it, too. It is through this unconditioned aspect of consciousness that we can transform the content of mind through training.
But meditation also means to cultivate basic human qualities, such as attention and compassion, and new ways of experiencing the world. What really matters is that a person gradually changes. Over months and years, we become less impatient, less prone to anger, less torn between hopes and fears. It becomes inconceivable to willingly harm another person. We develop a propensity toward altruistic behavior and the cluster of qualities that give us the resources to deal with the ups and downs of life.
The point here is that you can look at your thoughts, including strong emotions, with a pure mindfulness that is not associated with the contents of the thoughts.
Take the example of malevolent anger. We usually identify with anger. Anger can fill our mental landscape and project its distorted reality on people and events. When we are overwhelmed by anger, we cannot dissociate from it. We perpetuate a vicious circle of affliction by rekindling anger each time we see or remember the person who makes us angry. We become addicted to the cause of suffering.
But if we dissociate from anger and look at it with mindfulness, that which is aware of anger is not angry, and we can see that anger is just a bunch of thoughts. Anger doesn’t cut like a knife, burn like a fire, or crush like a rock; it is nothing more than a product of our mind. Instead of “being” the anger, we understand that we are not the anger, in the same way that clouds are not the sky.
So, to deal with anger, we avoid letting our mind jump again and again to the trigger for our anger. Then we look at anger itself and keep our attention upon it. If we stop adding wood to a fire and just watch, the fire will die out. Likewise, anger will vanish away, without being forcibly repressed or allowed to explode.
There is no question of not experiencing emotions; it’s a question of not being enslaved by them. Let emotions arise, but let them be freed from their afflictive components: distortion of reality, mental confusion, clinging, and suffering for oneself and others.
There is great virtue in resting from time to time in pure awareness of the present moment, and being able to refer to this state when afflictive emotions arise so that we do not identify with them and are not swayed by them.
It is difficult in the beginning, but becomes quite natural as you become increasingly familiar with such an approach. Whenever anger arises, you learn to recognize it right away. If you know someone to be a pickpocket, even if he mingles in a crowd, you will spot him right away and keep a careful eye on him.
Interdependence
Just as you can learn to deal with afflictive thoughts, you can learn to cultivate and enhance wholesome ones. To be filled with love and kindness brings about an optimal way of being. It is a win-win situation: you will enjoy lasting well-being for yourself, you’ll act in altruistic ways towards others, and you’ll be perceived as a good human being.
If altruistic love is based on an understanding of the interdependence of all beings and of their natural aspiration to happiness, and if this love extends impartially to all beings, then it is a source of genuine happiness. Acts of overflowing love, of pure, disinterested generosity -- as when you make a child happy or help someone in need, even if nobody knows what you have done -- generate a deep and heartwarming fulfillment.
Human qualities often come in clusters. Altruism, inner peace, strength, freedom, and genuine happiness thrive together like the parts of a nourishing fruit. Likewise, selfishness, animosity, and fear grow together. So, while helping others may not always be “pleasant,” it leads the mind to a sense of inner peace, courage, and harmony with the interdependence of all things and beings.
Afflictive mental states, on the other hand, begin with self-centeredness, with an increase in the gap between self and others. These states are related to excessive self-importance and self-cherishing associated with fear or resentment towards others, and grasping for outer things as part of a hopeless pursuit of selfish happiness. A selfish pursuit of happiness is a lose-lose situation: you make yourself miserable and make others miserable as well.
Inner conflicts are often linked with excessive rumination on the past and anticipation of the future. You are not truly paying attention to the present moment, but are engrossed in your thoughts, going on and on in a vicious circle, feeding your ego and self-centeredness.
This is the opposite of bare attention. To turn your attention inside means to look at pure awareness itself and dwell without distraction, yet effortlessly, in the present moment.
If you cultivate these mental skills, after a while you won’t need to apply contrived efforts anymore. You can deal with mental perturbations like the eagles I see from the window of my hermitage in the Himalayas deal with crows. The crows often attack them, diving at the eagles from above. But, instead of doing all kinds of acrobatics, the eagle simply retracts one wing at the last moment, lets the diving crow pass, and then extends its wing again. The whole thing requires minimal effort and causes little disturbance.
Being experienced in dealing with the sudden arising of emotions in the mind works in a similar way.
I have been exposed to the world of humanitarian activities for a number of years since I decided to dedicate the entire royalties of my books to 30 projects on education and health in Tibet, Nepal, and India, with a group of dedicated volunteers and generous philanthropists. It is easy to see how corruption, clashes of ego, weak empathy, discouragement can plague the humanitarian world. All this stems from a lack of maturity. So the advantages of spending time to develop human altruism and compassionate courage are obvious.
The Fragrance of Peace
The most important time to meditate or do other types of spiritual practices is early in the morning. You set the tone for the day and the “fragrance” of the meditation will remain and give a particular perfume to the whole day. Another important time is before falling asleep. If you clearly generate a positive state of mind, filled with compassion or altruism, this will give a different quality to the whole night.
When people experience “moments of grace”, or “magical moments” in daily life, while walking in the snow under the stars or spending a beautiful moment with dear friends by the seaside, what is really happening? All of a sudden, they have left their burden of inner conflicts behind. They feel in harmony with others, with themselves, with the world. It is wonderful to fully enjoy such magical moments, but it is also revealing to understand why they feel so good: pacification of inner conflicts; a better sense of interdependence with everything rather than fragmenting reality; and a respite from the mental toxins of aggression and obsession. All these qualities can be cultivated through developing wisdom and inner freedom. This will lead not just to a few moments of grace but to a lasting state of well-being that we may call genuine happiness.
In this state, feelings of insecurity gradually give way to a deep confidence that you can deal with life’s ups and downs. Your equanimity will spare you from being swayed like mountain grass in the wind by every possible praise and blame, gain and loss, comfort and discomfort. You can always draw on deep inner peace, and the waves at the surface will not appear as threatening.
alternet.org/healthwellness |
| posted by The Times @ 1:03 PM |
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